Theft
by Ankou13
Summary: Filling in one of the gaps within Hemingway's short story 'A Way You'll Never Be'. Warning: Abuse and feminists may not approve.


Disclaimer: I do not own A Way You'll Never Be. I can only hope that one day I'll be able to become as great a writer as Hemingway.

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A young girl who appeared to be no more than thirteen years of age peeked out from behind the low cut shrubbery. The way she held herself asserted an air of caution. And she was right to be cautious for if she were caught she would be killed on the spot, no questions asked. She watched as what appeared to be an American soldier on a bike rode past her after observing the battle field for himself. She looked left and right once, twice, three times, before she sprinted out of her hidden refuge and into the open. The dead bodies decorating the dirt road in front of her stretched on for what seemed like miles. The farm houses surrounding the newly founded graveyard were all eerily silent as well. It was if the entire area had simply been abandoned. The girl knew better though.

The carcasses belonged to soldiers and civilians alike, however the latter far outweighed the former. She couldn't focus on the faces of the numerous corpses though; otherwise she wouldn't be able to carry out what was required of her. It was best and easiest to simply ignore the fact that the cold, stiff corpses were once alive and warm, that they had once had their own families, their own lives to live. There was no use shedding tears over them anyway. They were dead and no one could do anything to change that. So it was best to put them to good use. Making use of whatever came into your hands was basically a rule of survival. It was just something you had to get used to when living in a war zone. Only the strongest survived in this cruel, war torn world.

The girl reached the first victim, a young boy no older than her, and rummaged through his pockets searching for anything of value. Once done with him she moved on to the next body, followed by another and another until she had searched each body. A few coins and some weaponry were all that her desperate search yielded. She looked longingly at the clothes decorating each of the female corpses, desiring something more than the torn rags she wore. She would never be allowed to keep it anyway. Everything she obtained went to her superior, her master.

The girl decided that she had wasted enough time and sprinted back into the cover of the shrubbery. She cast a quick glance back at the pitiful dead bodies. The trees cast an elongated shadow over the sea of corpses, creating an eerie effect. It appeared as if Death's hands were waiting to claim the carcases. She contemplated offering a quick prayer before deciding that it would do no good. She spun around and disappeared into the bushland.

She had been running for no more than ten minutes when she reached a familiar camp ground. Slinking around the back of the tents as quietly as she could, she made her way to one of the larger temporary huts. She was almost spotted on one occasion that would have wrought some serious repercussions. She stilled in place behind a large green tent and silently listened in on the two soldier's conversation, waiting for the moment to leave.

'Who are you?'

The American soldier pulled out a card-like object and showed it to the other officer.

'I will keep this.'

'You will not,' The American said, he sounded almost desperate.

Both soldiers were eloquently distracted so the girl took that opportunity to move. She continued on, silently creeping to her destination. Once she had reached the right tent she peaked through a gap in the side checking to see if her master was alone. He was so she entered.

'What took you so long? I was getting ready to come and look for you.' A malicious smile that promised pain broke out on his face.

She just lowered her head and offered him her loot. She knew better than to speak without permission.

'What the hell is that rubbish?' He held up the coins. 'Do you think that this is enough to satisfy me?' He dropped the coins and lunged forward, grabbing the girl by the throat. His fury was evident in his eyes. 'I've warned you before. I thought you would have understood by now.' One of his hands released her throat, moving instead to punch her in the stomach.

'Captain? There's someone by the name of Nick here to see you.' A voice sounded outside the tent.

'Prepare for a severe disciplining when I return.' He shoved her, letting her collapse in a heap on the floor before he turned and walked out of the tent.

The girl pushed herself into a sitting position, her arm snaked protectively around her stomach. No matter what she did it always ended up like that. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't please him. He simply saw her as a possession. To him she had no identity.


End file.
